desmo

Thanks for the heads up, what braking system do you have on the Saturn?

We had a 40' Charleston with Cummins ISL 400, the coach weighted 32,000 and averaged about 7.5 mpg.

The primary purpose of these products is to aid the driver with steering control as is the case with a front tire blowout by adding centering force to the steering wheel. A secondary benefit provided with Tru-Center is ability to trim the centering force of the steering wheel to the right or left of center. This can be useful in situations of high camber road surfaces and cross winds. The trim must be changed when road or wind conditions change. For myself, I use it on long stretches of windy highways such as I70 crossing eastern Colorado and Kansas.

I had a generator problem that only happened when I was driving, the low oil level sensor would activate under certain conditions and turn off the generator. Later found out the dip stick was not properly calibrated and was showing full when it was a quart low. Check and see if you have error code read out on your generator.

We had a 2008 Forrest River Charleston 40' and with 2 13.5K units, the best we could get is 20 degree drop from outside temperature with low humidity. So if your getting to 80 when its 105 outside your doing real good. I assume the humidity was pretty low at your location. Costco has a 10k BTU for about $400 runs on 120v that will probably drop you another 5 degrees.

Ron, for what its worth my Beaver owners manual for the Allison MH4000 says shut down if temperature is over 275 degrees F. It normally runs around 200 to 220. As Brett says it depends where the sending unit is located, on mine its right next to the transmission output cooling line. Also if I'm in stop and go traffic the temperature will climb to 220.

Brett I agree shocks behave differently on some coaches although there was a reason the manufacturer chose the best shock for the application. The comparison article is a general reference on a given coach and may not be the same on all coaches. For my money I decided to stick with bilsteins even though the konis may fix some handling short comings, the last thing I want is a stiff ride. However, the cost to install and re-install 10 shocks is more money than I want to spent to find out. So I'll probably sell the konis.

You may want to read this article from MotorHome magazine http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/rv-how-to/rv-tech-tips/shock-therapy-rv-shock-absorber-test/ they did a test comparison of the major shock manufactures products and the results may surprise you as they did me after I purchased Koni shocks only to learn the my Bilsteins were superior. Now I have a new set of Konis in the garage.

You might try Montana. If you create an LLC you do not have to be a resident to register your vehicle while at the same time avoiding most sales tax. Montana has very low RV use taxes and registration. However, there is cost to set up and maintain an LLC. Google bennett lawyers in Montana, they are compentent and trustworthy. I've had my RV registered in Montana with them.

I'm no technician but I had a similar problem one day turned on the air conditioner and no cold air fan would run. I read on a web site that sometimes for reasons not totally understood to turn on the heat pump and let it run for a few minutes then switch to air conditioning. By golly it worked and haven't had a problem since. Good Luck

Thanks to all for the information, especially Wayne's analysis. Desmo

How important is tire pressure? I'm curious as to what the ideal temperature range for checking tire pressure, or is ambient temperature sufficient? Most literature says to check tire pressure when cold. What is cold? In the desert winter months, nighttime is 20 degrees and daytime temperature is in the 70s. I also read that tire pressure varies by 1 PSI for every 10 degrees F. That is a significant amount of pressure given such a wide range of temperature when your axle loads are near maximum tire loads! What about high-altitude pressure readings in Denver, for example ... does it matter? Is plus or minus 5 PSI significant?

If your Beaver Motorhome is riding on a Roadmaster 8 or 10 bag chassis and your problem is alignment, have the alignment shop set positive caster and toe in near maximum specification settings. When Roadmaster chassis positive caster and toe alignment is set to the negative range of specifications, they tend to wander.

I can't speak for all Hondas but I have been towing a 2006 Honda Odyssey for 2 years over 10000 miles and have no problems. All you need to do is start the engine and shift from low to drive then to neutral and leave the key in the ignition also I have a disconnect switch on the negative post of the battery that I engage. Every 200 to 300 miles start the Odyssey and let idle for 5 minutes. Desmo

Hi Can I change the lift height on my Tag? I have a chains connected to the lift mechanism, can I simply shorten to the next link. Currently the tag sometimes drags when lifted. Any down sides to changing tag raised height? Desmo

Robert I can't tell you which RV park to stay at but I can tell you there are many restricted roads in that area for motorhomes greater than 40 feet. The following link http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/trucks/bus-mh/busmap-d10.pdf shows where they are. For that matter the link also can show other restricted roads in California. Most of route 1 north of San Francisco is also restricted. Best of luck. Desmo

First, call the Caterpillar RV Hotline with your engine serial number: 877 777-3126. Ask them if it is a Caterpillar supplied dipstick or dipstick supplied by Beaver. If Caterpillar, ask them that question. But, the practical answer is to CALIBRATE THE ENGINE OIL DIPSTICK. This is a good idea on any diesel engine installed in an RV, as the angle of installation and therefore oil dip stick readings vary by installation. To calibrate the dipstick: At the next oil change, drain oil, remove old filter (as usual). Then install the drain plug and new oil filter and add the engine's correct oil capacity LESS THE NUMBER OF QUARTS you want between the "ADD" and "FULL" marks (let's say 2 quarts). So for an engine with 20 quart capacity you would add 18 quarts. Run the engine a few minutes, shut off and wait until oil has descended into the pan (at least 30 minutes and an hour is safer). Pull the dip stick and use a file or dremel tool to mark the oil level "ADD". Add the remaining two quarts, let the oil settle in the pan, pull the dipstick and mark this the "FULL" mark. Also, when checking the oil level with the dipstick it is safest to do it in the morning after the oil has had all night to flow back to the pan. Do not add oil until the level reaches the ADD mark. Finally, make a sticker to affix near oil fill: OIL CAPACITY INCLUDING FILTER: xx QUARTS.

I have read some people have painted their fiberglass roofs with uv filtered rust-oleum marine deck paint. From their post, the paint is going on 3 years with no white streaks. This sounds like it may be an alternative gel coat oxidation. Desmo

Thanks Brett I'll call Monaco and fine out what the pressure should be. Unfortunately, I don't think I could find the compressor or let alone adjust it. As long as I know it's adjustable and what pressure it should be, I can take it to a shop and have then do it. Thanks Desmo

I purchased a warranty from the selling dealer called first extended service corporation. The policy seems quite good for the price except as we learned later service must be performed with the selling dealer unless you are 100 miles away from said dealer. We discovered the dealer was terrible, several visits to repair the same item which we finally went somewhere else to have it repaired at our cost. When you schedule an appointment and the dealer knows you have a warranty, he tells you that he is very busy and will schedule you in 4 to 5 weeks. We didn't do our home work, fortunately california has a prorated insurance policy law, and we received most of our insurance premium refund. Desmo

Would anyone know if the air compressor psi on my coach is adjustable? It shuts off at 110 psi. My previous coach was a Forest River and it maintained 150 psi. The reason for this question is the tag axle doesn't lift very much when the switch is activated and a service technician once said the tag axle needs 132 psi to lift. I have read the owners manual and nothing is noted about the required pressure to raise the tag axle or the adjusting the compressor psi. The only thing it does describe is how to adjust the air bag pressure, and I'm not sure what pressure it should be. Its pressure dial currently reads 45 psi. I have a 2004 Beaver Marquis and any help would be greatly appreciated. Desmo

We just purchased a 43' Beaver Tag Cat C12 with an Allison 4000 transmission which normally operates around 210 degrees Fahrenheit at highway speeds towing 4000 lb car ambient temperature 80 degree. My concern is when I leave the highway for local city traffic the temperature gauge climbs to 230 degrees. I also noticed the temperature rise when creeping in heavy highway traffic. Is this normal? I haven't noticed high transmission temperature when climbing long grades it remains steady around 210 degrees. Also coolant temperature remains in normal range. Transmission fluid is full. Thanks Desmo

Hi smoker I solved my problem, just bought a beaver marquis with 3 a/c units so far so good. best of luck DESMO

FYI, I recently added a trucenter steering control which is a stabilizer as well as a centering electric hydraulic system. This was installed on a 41' Charleston with a gvwr of 32,000 lbs. Not only will it help in controlling steering with a tire blow out it also provides steering assistance with side winds and road crowns. I have driven cross country with it and would not consider driving without one if only for the steering assistance. It completely allows the driver to guide the steering wheel rather than hang on to it. It's sold by BlueOx. Check it out Regards Desmo

Thanks for the help Brett, I'm still in rv electrical 101 mode. I don't have a digital voltmeter and will soon get one, in the mean time I do have a magnum energy 2012 console that shows voltage but I don't know if the reading is coming from the house batteries or the chassis batteries. I can't find a selection on the "me" console. Normally when shore connected, the voltage reading is 13.5 and when unconnected the voltage reads 12.8. The display seems to be quite steady. How can I tell which battery bank, house or chassis, is being displayed? Also I did notice one of my bedroom flouresent lights sometimes will not fully turn on and other time it's just fine and it is on the same electrical circuit as the bathroom light. Desmo 2008 charleston I apologize for the lack of rv electrical knowledge and hope there is an electrical seminar at the upcoming INTO area rally on 1/20/2010.